Loline alkaloids

A loline alkaloid is a member of the 1-aminopyrrolizidines (often referred to as lolines), which are bioactive natural products with several distinct biological and chemical features. The lolines are insecticidal and insect-deterrent compounds that are produced in grasses infected by endophytic fungal symbionts of the genus Epichloë (anamorphic species: Neotyphodium). Lolines increase resistance of endophyte-infected grasses to insect herbivores, and may also protect the infected plants from environmental stresses such as drought and spatial competition. They are alkaloids, organic compounds containing basic nitrogen atoms. The basic chemical structure of the lolines comprises a saturated pyrrolizidine ring, a primary amine at the C-1 carbon, and an internal ether bridge—a hallmark feature of the lolines, which is uncommon in organic compounds—joining two distant ring (C-2 and C-7) carbons (see Fig. 1). Different substituents at the C-1 amine, such as methyl, formyl, and acetyl groups, yield loline species that have variable bioactivity against insects. Besides endophyte–grass symbiota, loline alkaloids have also been identified in some other plant species; namely, Adenocarpus species (family Fabaceae) and Argyreia mollis (family Convolvulaceae).

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